


The Void, The Castle, and The One Between

by PhantomPhan16, VicenteValtieri



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 06:24:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13945035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomPhan16/pseuds/PhantomPhan16, https://archiveofourown.org/users/VicenteValtieri/pseuds/VicenteValtieri
Summary: Thrawn is exiled and finds himself caught in the middle of more than he ever imagined.





	The Void, The Castle, and The One Between

Thrawn stood before a council standing in judgment over him. He had crossed a line, and he knew it. He wouldn't beg or plead. There was pride in his stance and his defiant eyes.

 

 

He didn't bat an eye as he was sentenced to exile. He had done when he felt had to in order to protect his people, all while knowing they would react this way.

 

His parents couldn't look at him as he passed them and he didn't look at them.

 

His only regret was that it had all come to cost him the one that truly mattered, his brother. Thrass was gone, and he shouldered the blame and guilt.

 

He was left with the most basics of survival on a hostile world composed of hot, humid jungle.

 

In just a matter of days he was sick and weak from the drastic change in climate as it caused havoc on his system.

 

Of course, it was at this point that he caught sight of the smoke rising above the trees. Not enough to be a forest fire... it had to be a cookfire or a campfire, and that meant people.

 

He stumbled towards it, leaning against trees at regular intervals to keep from falling over.

 

"Please..." He whispered as he neared it. Finally, he stumbled into a clearing around a cave and found the fire and a hooded and robed figure past it.

 

His legs shook and finally gave out under him.

 

The hooded figure moved to his side and laid a hand on his chest. He began to feel better, breathing hard. "...Who are you?"

"We've met before.” Sidious's gravely voice echoed.

 

"You..." He broke off with a curse in his native tongue.

 

"Don't bite the hand that's feeding you, Thrawn. I've come to offer you a bargain."

 

"What do you want?"

 

"My offer is simple: Serve me, and you will live."

 

"Serve you how?"

 

"You will be my spy and agent. You will do whatever is necessary to complete the mission I assign you. When it is completed, I will give you anything you desire."

 

"... Fine." He had no choice, and they both knew it but the alternative was a slow death here.

 

Sidious gathered him up and carried him to his ship. He passed out the moment his back touched a soft, cool surface.

 

When he woke it was clear they were still in hyperspace. He sat up slowly and looked around.

 

He was in a spartan room, lying on a soft, clean berth. There were clothes lying beside him.

 

He felt much better and dressed, finding the clothes, a robe and trousers, a bit too big but very soft and fine quality.

 

After so long shafting himself and striving to live as simply as possible in an effort to be an example for his men, the robe was pure heaven. He could get used to it.

 

The door opened and in came Darth Sidious. He tensed but didn't speak or move.

 

"You look good out of uniform. Less stiff." The Sith complimented. "I trust you're comfortable."

 

"... Well enough."

 

"Good. We're on our way to my home. When we arrive, we'll begin preparing you for your mission. For now, rest."

 

"What mission?"

 

"Have you heard of Senator Palpatine?" Sidious led him into a living room with a datacenter that he activated to a hologram of a neat, youngish man in an ornate cloak and waistcoat.

 

"I haven't."

 

"I suppose there's no real reason you should have. He's a young Senator from a small planet in the rim: Naboo. You are going to enter his household and keep an eye on him."

 

Thrawn gave him a suspicious look. "Why?"

 

"Eventually, he will be removed and replaced when he reaches the highest seat of power."

 

"And how am I to enter his house?"

 

"He has a fondness for both the exotic and art."

 

"You want me to befriend him."

 

"I want you to do more than that. I'm aware you have the proper equipment. I want you to make yourself his wife, and to keep track of everything he does, spurring him on when he hesitates, holding him back if he becomes too zealous."

 

  
"What?!"

 

"A friend would not be close enough for my purposes."

 

The Chiss bristled. Marriage was sacred, and yet he was now being told to use it to spy and betray.

 

"If you object, I can always deliver you back to Ferrash."

 

"And if I should fall in love with him?"

 

"Well, I would suggest you don't." The Sith Lord's lips pressed together. "There is no ending to this that sees the Senator living."

 

Thrawn scowled. "... Fine."

 

"You will have to learn to hide your emotions better than that." Sidious stood. "There is a stylist and tutors waiting for you at my base. They will teach you."

 

He sighed. "As you wish."

 

"Good. Try to get some more sleep and take a bath. You look like you need it."

 

He left the Chiss alone and Thrawn brooded in the bath. "How do I get myself into these things?"

 

The simple answer was by being far too clever for his own good and making himself a target, of course.

 

He rested most of the trip, recovering and regaining strength.

 

Sidious's home was a fortress on a forest moon filled with strange beasts. It felt too empty and too busy at the same time. He could hear the hum of machinery and the rooms were decorated with luxuriant and detailed sculpture in cold, black stone.

 

The stylist attacked him almost the moment he walked off the ship.

 

He was a thin man with greasy hair and a lot of different combs. "We will clip your hair so that it will grow out nicely into a pixie cut. It will look very elegant with your facial structure."

 

The Chiss scowled. "No."

 

"It won't look silly. In fact, with some polish, and an easy brush, it should be one of the best looks you've ever had."

 

"Did I stutter? I said no."

 

"Let the stylist work, Thrawn." Sidious was hovering like a dark cloud.

 

"There's nothing wrong with my hair."

 

"It is not something wrong, sir." The stylist explained. "But you are to mingle with the highest of Naboo's society, and it lacks pizzazz."

 

He growled. "Fine."

 

The stylist clipped Thrawn's hair into a slightly heart-shaped style and dried it with care. "Very, very handsome indeed." He approved at the end of it.

 

"It will do I suppose." He approved but didn't like being messed with like this, poked, prodded, and changed.

 

Especially when he learned that one of the tutors was there specifically to teach him how to apply make-up.

By comparison, his introduction to Vendetta went over very well.

 

She chatted away about his looks as she took his measurements and held up different colors and difference shades of cloth to him.

 

"...White." She breathed softly when she first saw him. "You were born to wear white."

 

"Pardon?"

 

"What a canvas you make." She walked around him. "Strip."

 

He growled but stripped to his underwear.

 

The Fashion Designer hummed softly. "White... And gold... But red as well, and black when the mood takes you..."

 

He tuned her out.

 

She draped a velvet bolt over one of his shoulders and a brocade one over the other. She took a hundred different measurements and made him move through various positions. She had him stretch up as tall as he could go and sit back in a chair.

 

He was fed up by the time she finished.

 

"You might be the best canvas I've seen yet."

 

"Stop calling me that."

 

She shrugged. "...There's no real point in learning your name at this juncture."

 

"I don't care if you learn my name or not, just stop calling me a canvas."

 

"Fine. I'll have something ready for you tomorrow." She began pulling down fabric.

 

He nodded. "Thank you."

 

Sidious showed him to a bedroom that he declared was his. Like the rest of the Palace it was carved from black granite and there were faces in the walls, staring at the bed,

 

"... Why the faces?"

 

"To guard the sleeper from demons. Supposedly, the faces scared them away."

 

Thrawn snorted. "Ridiculous."

 

"Of course. Good evening. Tomorrow you'll begin music lessons and Vendetta will have created some new clothes for you."

 

"Music lessons?"

 

"Only some basics. Most people from well off families play some form of instrument here."

 

"No. I am not from here. I will be as myself, not what you imagine to be a perfect little wife. If he wants exotic very well, but it will be more than my appearance."

 

"You may not be from here, and you can certainly be yourself around the Senator, but there is a larger game you need to play as well."

 

  
"And just what is that?"

 

"Senator's wife, in a world of political backstabbing and general sneakiness. You'll need to blent in with people who won't approve of you being different."

 

"Then I will chose an instrument myself if I must," he all but spat, his distaste for this whole thing showing through.

 

"You will have a choice between a harpsichord, clarinet, and an organ. I suggest you learn something of all three."

 

"Why those three?"

 

"They are some of the simplest to learn."

 

He sneered. "Do me a favor... and jump off a cliff. No, end of story. IF I play an instrument it will be on my terms and time. I already have much to do and learn it seems, this is the least important. Now leave me be."

 

Sidious raised a hand and threw Thrawn into the wall. He could feel the leering faces digging into his back and the fingers stabbing into him. "You have so little sense of self-preservation. It's almost funny."

 

"Well excuse me. I had you show back up in my life and start telling me what to wear, learn, think, and do. Pardon me if I'm in a bad mood."

 

The Force closed on his throat and squeezed.

 

He forced himself to meet Sidious' gaze, unafraid. If he died fine. That meant he wouldn't be this monster's pawn. He had nothing else left to lose anyway.

 

"...Show me your desires." The Sith's voice hissed and pressure began to drive into his mind. "That I will know what to deny you. Tell me your fears, so I will know what to have you face. Show me your strengths, so I will know where to strike."

 

The pressure built and built, but his walls never gave. No cracks, no give, just a headache.

 

"...Tell me what you want..." The Sith's face twisted into a snarl as he pushed.

 

"Nothing you can give me." He snarled then suddenly grew calm, a far more dangerous thing than his anger. "Then I will take from your body."

 

Thrawn hissed. "Don't touch me."

 

He came right up to the Chiss, smirking. "You are in no position to resist me." "The mission-" he tried as the Sith tore the robe away. "The Senator has always had a bleeding heart."

 

"I won't give in if you- Stop it!" White, bony hands were tracing his sides.

 

The pants were torn away well. "Stop!"

 

Sidious gripped him by the arms and flung him to the bed.

 

He tried to crawl away, to resist, but he couldn't move.

 

Sidious had skin like bone and a grip like steel. His robes - normally so solid - seemed to disappear in a puff of smoke as he undressed. Somehow, it didn't surprise Thrawn that his hair was red.

 

It was his face that surprised him. It matched the face he had seen on the image of Senator Palpatine. Sidious smiled savagely. "Oh yes, my soft-hearted twin won't be able to resist you, but you will always be mine."

 

Thrawn, petrified, still managed to put the pieces together. "...You want me to guide him to power, so you can impersonate him when the time comes." He stuttered.

 

"Exactly, and then he will die, and you will be mine fully." "I-ah!" he cried out as the Sith sank roughly into him.

 

"Stop!" Thrawn screamed, face turning up to the blood red painting hanging over the bed. "...stop..."

 

When it was finally over he was sore, full, felt used and dirty, and had tears running down his face.

 

Sidious stood up, bone white ghost and black granite. "I trust you will think before you act in the future."

 

He curled into himself, sobbing. "You won't have just yourself to think about."

 

Thrawn nodded. "...Please... Please just leave me alone..."

 

He swept put, and Thrawn sobbed until he finally dragged himself to the bathroom to clean up. He ached, and cleaning himself stung. However the Sith's parting words haunted him and he touched his abdomen. Could he be....?

"Already?”

 

He pushed two fingers into himself and cleaned as much out as he could. Blood swept down the drain as he stretched a tear open and gave a short gasp.

 

It was a long, painful process with many more tears, but finally he was clean and curled up in bed with a pad in his underwear, fearing that life had already taken root inside him.

 

He fell asleep sometime just before the sun rose.

...He opened his eyes to light that was strangely... blue. Blue violet.

 

He blinked in confusion and sat up, hissing at the soreness inside.

 

The door was half-open, and the odd light was spilling from it. Outside, he could barely see an unending space, filled with fractured and floating islands.

 

He approached the door slowly, cautiously.

 

Pushing it open, he found himself stepping out onto what might as well have been a game scape. He stepped out onto a platform and slowly began moving forwards.

 

"Hello?"

 

A figure appeared in the mists, just out of sight. He began to move towards it. "Hello?!"

The figure led him on, until he stepped through a door and into another bedroom. This one was decorated in red with an open window over a busy river.

 

He looked around, utterly confused.

 

Someone was tucked into the bed, a red head of hair sticking out on a white pillow.

 

Thrawn drew his conclusions and ended with he probably shouldn't be here.

 

There was a creak as the figure in the bed sat up. "...Hello? Who's there?" Blue eyes roved the room. "...I can't see you, but I know you're here."

 

He swallowed but stepped closer, into sight. "H-Here," he said, his voice cracking. It was like something in him was drawn to the man, who he realized was Senator Palpatine. He felt... different... from Sidious.

 

"Who are you?" The Senator drew his blankets up around his chest modestly. "...Pardon me for not getting up. I'm not dressed for guests right now."

 

"Thrawn. I..." The words tumbled from his lips and before long tears joined the flow of words.

 

The Senator stood up, keeping his sheets gathered around himself. "Shh... Come lie down and I'll do what I can for you." He looked out the window at the frozen city. "...Here again. Do you like tea, Thrawn?"

 

"... Yes," he said softly, feeling drained but oddly... safe. The Senator had such a soothing aura around him that the Chiss didn't hesitate to nestle down in his bed.

 

The tea was hot and steaming. The Senator had found a bathrobe to wrap around himself and he sat down beside the Chiss. "...Thrawn, do you know where you are?"

 

"No. I don't know how I got here, either."

 

"You've been drawn into a place between worlds called the Void. I hate to tell you this, but everything that's going on right now is a dream. When you wake up, you'll be back wherever you were when you fell asleep."

 

He whimpered softly. "Will... we remember this? Will you remember me?"

 

"I do not know. Void walking is not an exact science, but I will try. I promise to try."

 

"I can't bare him." "I know. I'm sorry you've been caught up in this."

 

"...Is there anything I can do to help you remember?"

 

  
"Hmm. Actually there might be." "What is it?"

 

"...I don't think you'd like it."

 

"What is it?"

 

"If... If we were together, physically, I would be more likely to remember."

 

Thrawn bit his lip. "I..." "I'm sorry." ".... Not... there. Please.... it still hurts."

 

"No... No, I can't do that to you. Just... enjoy your tea and I'll find a way to remember."

 

He caught the Senator's hand. "Please, I need you to remember me. I need your help. I can't be with him, I can't." He knew he sounded desperate and he felt it. Sidious had violated him, and nothing would stop him from doing it again to ensure then Chiss was pregnant and gain leverage over him to use him as a pawn in his sick game. He needed away, and he couldn't get away without help. Palpatine knew his brother, he was Thrawn's best chance.

 

"All right... All right." The Senator sighed. "I'll be as careful as possible."

 

Thrawn lay back and tried to relax as much as he could.

 

The Senator was careful and gentle, much more so than his brother ever could be. He handled Thrawn with care and ensured he tipped over the edge at the end of it.

 

"Are you all right?" he asked the trembling Chiss. Thrawn nodded. "Did I hurt you?" "Not bad. I'll be okay."

 

The Senator brought him more tea, but soon he began fading away. "...I'm waking up. I swear, I'll remember you."

 

"Find me, please." "I will, Thrawn, I swear it." He faded away, and Thrawn huddled down, soon waking in the palace once more. However he swore he could smell the Senator on him.

 

He sat up. Someone had left a basic breakfast beside the bed.

 

He ate and nestled down into the mattress, hoping the Senator would find a way to him if he couldn't get away.

 

Vendetta came knocking late in the afternoon. "...I brought a fresh change of clothes."

 

"Go away."

 

"...It doesn't have to be this way." She told him quietly, laying out the outfit on the end of the bed. "Just do what he wants, keep your head down, and you can make it through this."

 

 

"Do what he wants? He raped me."

 

"He does things like that when he's angry, because he's out of control. He's not... as powerful as he likes to think he is sometimes. But he won't make your life miserable if you cooperate."

 

"I just want to leave."

 

"That's not as easy as it sounds. Have you slept here yet?" She questioned, tipping her head to the side.

 

"What kind of question is that? What do you think I was doing? Playing a game?

 

"No. Have you Slept here yet?" She put an odd emphasis on the word. "And perhaps while you were sleeping, you saw a visitor?"

 

"What are you talking about? Don't tell me you believe in all that demon nonsense."

 

"...It's not nonsense." Vendetta's eyes flashed. "Suffice to say that Sidious has more than walls surrounding this fortress. If you want to get out, he has to let you."

 

"He can go set himself on fire. Now leave me alone."

 

"...All right. But I would be careful when you go to sleep next." Vendetta left him alone.

 

Thrawn rolled his eyes and nestled down.

 

He wasn't bothered again and found it surprisingly easy to go back to sleep.

He woke in the blueish world between worlds - the Void - again. The path he was walking was different this time. He was surrounded by metal roses - silver and gold - with black vines and long, sharp, thorns.

 

"Hello?!"

 

"...Welcome, Thrawn. I've been waiting for you to come here for a very long time." Shadows coalesced in front of him and formed the figure of a young man, long and lithe with pale skin and dark eyes black as space.

 

He took a started step back. "Um... hello."

 

"I am the Outsider, an agent of forces beyond your comprehension. I have come to offer you a gift, and a warning."

 

"Was it you who led to the Senator?"

 

"Yes. The flow of the Void is a strange place and the Future can be so hard to predict. I see all choices, I see all endings. I can predict which endings may be chosen, but I cannot force you to choose."

 

"Then... your warning and gift?"

 

"Your choices are many and varied. You've been drawn into a dangerous game, one you have little hope of winning. What will you sacrifice for victory, I wonder? This is my warning: In this game, you cannot remain yourself and hope to win."

 

"You will find that there are many equal opposites around you. For your gift, I will give you as many such that you can find within this chamber. When you leave, you will not speak to me again, so choose wisely." The Outsider vanished like dust in a current leaving Thrawn alone in the chamber, which - he now noticed - was filled with odd bits of miscellaneous things, as well as surrounded by the roses and thorns.

 

He selected a gold rose and silver rose, getting two thorns in his hand in the process of retrieving them.

 

"Ah..." Thrawn pulled the thorns out, but hesitated to cast them aside. Opposite and equal, the rose and the thorn. He looked around the room and spotted a toy chest. It was a jerk of non-sequiter in this pile of junk.

 

Curious, he went over and opened it.

 

There was a pile of old toys of every kind inside. Opposite and equal... how was he to determine that?

 

His mind drifted to the life he carried. Somehow, here in this moment, he knew it was there, cleaving to him. What toys would he ever want to give his child? He would select only two, he decided as he pawed through the toys,

 

He chose a simple doll with roses woven into its hair. It looked charming and innocent.

 

 

For his second choice, he picked a strong, detailed doll with armor covering it and a sword by its side.

 

He closed the chest and looked for a way out.

 

The rose walls gave way to a walkway which carried him back to his bedroom. He settled down into his bed, placing all four objects on the table beside him.

 

He curled and drifted off, longing to be found and taken away by the Senator.

 

In the morning, he woke up to find two cups of something beside him. One was patterned with a silver-haired little girl surrounded by roses on the facing side. It was filled with liquid that looked like melted silver. The second one had a staunch, gilt-haired woman on the facing side with a sword held planted in front of her and was filled with liquid gold.

 

He sat up and admired them for their beauty and design.

 

On the back sides, though, there was a different image. The silver cup had weeping suitors and the golden one a dark silhouette. It was a double-edged gift after all. A rose and a thorn in each one.

 

He wondered what to do with them, fearing Sidious would take or destroy them.

 

Something clicked inside his brain and he almost face-palmed. Of course, he was supposed to drink them.

 

He took a calming breath and drank the golden one first and then sliver in quick succession.

 

When he was done, he hid the cups in a drawer. He wanted to keep them.

 

Meanwhile Senator Jarek Palpatine wracked his brain, searching for a way to get Thrawn.

 

He had to find his brother, or find where his brother was making his home at the moment, and he would demand the Chiss.

 

Easier said than done, but for all his brother's knowledge of him he had it equally of his brother.

 

He took a leave of absence while the Senate was out of session and went to Byss. His brother had loved it here on its moons.

 

Though not formally trained in the Force, the Senator had some instinctual use of it as well as a little control. He did not need to look hard to find his brother's home and made his way. Thrawn was finally out of his room for once. He was bored nearly to tears over the harpsicord and was nearly face down on it, so bored was he. Part of him almost wished for morning sickness just to get him away from this instrutment.

 

Fortunately, Vendetta provided something of a distraction. "We should get you packed."

 

"Packed? For what?" he asked around a yawn of boredom.

 

"Someone's coming to take you away. I finished your wardrobe right on time."

 

He perked up at once. Finally.

 

Vendetta helped him load all of the beautiful clothes she had made for him and for the babies she had insisted she knew were coming long before he had told her.

 

The slammed open just as they finished, and a fuming Sidious led his brother in. "Take him, Jarek, and be gone." "Thank you, Sheev. Remember, come near him again, and I will not hesitate to tell the Jedi of you." "I still say you're bluffing." "But can you take that risk?"

 

Sidious snarled at him and stormed back out. "Brother." Senator Palpatine called. "The key."

 

Sidious threw a small, brass object at his brother's head.

 

He caught it. "Thank you. Come, Thrawn."

 

Vendetta trailed after them until they reached the entrance and she stopped, waving slowly as Palpatine helped Thrawn to put his belongings into his shuttle.

 

The Chiss disappeared aboard it with him and all but collapsed onto the couch in the small sitting room, overwhelmed with relief.

 

Palpatine brought him a cup of tea. "Are you all right?"

 

He hugged the Senator, crying. "Thank you. Thank you."

 

"Shh..." Palpatine kissed his dark head. "I wouldn't leave you there."

 

"I... I'm pregnant. For sure."

 

"I know. Sidious told me. It's all right."

 

"What... happens now?"

 

"You're going to come home with me and then we'll figure things out."

 

"Thank you."

 

Palpatine sat down beside him as the autopilot did its work. "I hoped you would consider staying... under different circumstances than those Sidious intended, of course."

 

"... I'd like that, and... my babies should have someone else in their lives besides just me. They... they are your nieces and nephews." "Do you know how many yet?" He shook his head. "No, but my race... we have litters, so anywhere from four to six."

 

"...Is it possible that I might be biological father to at least a few of them?" Palpatine questioned.

 

"Does it count being done in the Void?"

 

"In all honesty, I do not know. I've never heard of such a thing."

 

"Well the Outsider seems interested in helping me, at least a little. Perhaps so, and twins like you have identical DNA. Really we could claim they're all yours."

 

"The Outsider spoke to you? What happened?" Palpatine questioned.

 

"He gave a warning and a gift." He relayed the warning and the gifts he'd chosen, including the toys, laying a hand on his stomach as he spoke of the toys. He had a little pouch already, which made him confident it was a big litter.

 

"...I've never so much as seen him. It's a rare thing for him to speak to anyone."

 

Thrawn smiled. "Maybe he just likes me more," he teased.

 

"I wouldn't doubt it. What isn't there to like?"

 

He blushed an nestled against the human, who reached a hand towards his stomach. "May I?" He nodded.

 

Palpatine cupped his hand on Thrawn's stomach and felt for them. "...I count four." He mused.

 

The Chiss purred happily. "A good litter," he said, smiling, his red eyes shining with happiness.

 

Palpatine kissed his head and held him close.

And Thrawn fell softly asleep against his side.

 

 

Thrawn opened his eyes to blue and violet. Strange, he didn't think he'd be brought back here, but the Outsider was waiting. "What happened to us not speaking again?"

"Circumstances changed." The Outsider gestured around. "I have a favor to ask of you. One you are free to refuse."

 

"Ask, so long as it doesn't put my babies in danger."

 

"It would and would not. It has been a long time since I last deigned to walk the mortal world. I wish to do so again."

 

"How would that put my babies in danger?"

 

"It would and would not. In the sense that an extra child is always a danger to the others, it would. In the sense that no direct harm would come, it would not."

 

"Extra child?"

 

"You bear four. My proposition would bring an extra, a fifth."

 

"You mean... you? As my child?"

 

"A portion of my consciousness, yes."

 

"... Why me?"

 

"Perhaps because you fascinate me. Perhaps because I have looked forward and back and seen that I can entrust a portion of myself to you."

 

He met the Chiss's gaze. "Perhaps because I have seen that you will, and already do, love your children, regardless of father and conception method." Thrawn nodded. "All right. I will do my best to raise them with as my own."

 

"In a way, he will be your own." The Outsider brushed a hand over Thrawn. "This will be briefly unpleasant."

The Chiss woke up to an aching and cramping abdomen and he gave a low groan.

 

Palpatine came to him at once, worried at the sight of the Chiss clutching his abdomen.

 

"What's happening?" He knelt beside the Chiss. "Has something happened?"

 

"The Outsider-ow." "What has he done?!" Thrawn shook his head and explained around the pain, relaxing as it passed.

 

"...Oh, my... I do feel a fifth now." Palpatine sat back, blinking.

 

Now that the pain was gone the Chiss cradled his stomach, purring.

 

"Five babies... We're going to be busy."

 

"We'll manage." "Will you when they get heavy? And giving birth?" "It won't be easy, but my race is built for such big pregnancies and births."

 

"All right. Then we'll manage." Palpatine kissed his forehead. "I can't wait to see them."

 

He purred softly. "Thank you,... for giving me a chance to stay with you."

 

"I like you, Thrawn, of course I want you to stay with me."

 

He nestled in, happily. "Thank you. You never told me your name, though."

 

"It's Jarek. Jarek Palpatine." Jarek kissed his head again.

 

"Jarek. Jarek." He rolled the name around in his smooth, accented voice, purring it. "A strong name."

 

"It is." Jarek agreed. "Thrawn is a beautiful name too."

 

"Thank you. It's my Core name, but I don't know if you could pronounce my full name." "May I hear it?" "Mitth'raw'nuruodo."

 

Palpatine played with that name in his mouth for a few tries. "...I'll practice that one."

 

The Chiss smiled. "I don't mind if you can't pronounce it. Cheunh is hard for non-Chiss."

 

"I'll get it eventually." Jarek nuzzled him.

 

Palpatine took Thrawn to his manor on Naboo. "Feel free to choose whatever rooms you like for yourself and the babies. There's plenty of room."

 

"It's all so beautiful."

 

"Naboo is a beautiful planet." Palpatine had an arm around Thrawn.

 

"Your home is beautiful, too."

 

"It is. Hopefully the little ones will make better memories here than I did."

 

"You were unhappy here?"

 

"Our Father was overbearing and abusive. We were the eldest and we could never seem to please him."

 

 

"Oh. I'm sorry. If it makes you uncomfortable we don't have to stay here."

 

"No. The Manor deserves a second chance, and it is one of the most beautiful in all of Naboo."

 

"Is there anything I can do it make it easier for you?"

 

"You already are." Palpatine flashed him a smile.

 

"Still, I suppose the kitchen could use some remodeling. It's a bit... dated." Thrawn perked up. Cooking was something he enjoyed, edible art... and just food. The Senator smiled. "Well at that look I can't deny you that. The kitchen is yours to do with as you please."

 

Thrawn smiled. "And I'll want to decorate the nursery."

 

"Of course. I will see that you have everything you need." "Thank you. Where is your room?"

 

"In the East Wing. The Master Bedroom." Palpatine led him along. "The nursery is there as well and many other bedrooms."

 

Thrawn examined the nursery then chose another room for a new nursery. The things in the current one were outdated, even Palpatine would admit, so he agreed. It was near the master bedroom, and Thrawn made his room right across from it.

 

The new nursery was soon a pastel paradise with one, massive crib on one wall, so the little ones would be able to curl up if they wanted to, and a changing table on the other. There was a rocking chair and a baby swing and so many other toys. It was a paradise.

 

Thrawn had also finished plans for the kitchen remodel and that was being worked on by professionals. It had taken them a about a week, and Thrawn couldn't be happier. With five babies he was growing quickly, too.

 

Palpatine had bought a few droids to help Thrawn out. One of them was a medical advisor who scanned the little ones regularly.

 

Thrawn was adamant that the genders remained secret. Through it all he and Jarek grew closer.

 

Especially when Thrawn hit the sexual stage of his pregnancy.

 

Palpatine came in from working in the garden, and Thrawn all but tackled him, purring and growling... and nearly naked.

 

Palpatine stumbled back slightly, wrapping his arms around his lover. "Thrawn! What are you doing?"

 

He whined, rubbing against the Senator. "Please. Jarek, please," he panted.

 

"All right, all right. I suppose I can get the old soldier to attention." Palpatine amusedly kissed Thrawn. "Let's go to bed then, love."

 

He led Thrawn to the master bedroom, which they now shared, and peeled away the last of the Chiss's clothes before undressing him. Thrawn couldn't be on his back or stomach now, so he knelt, holding onto the headboard. "Oh, love, you're already so wet and eager aren't you?"

 

Thrawn whined. "Yes. Please..."

 

He kissed up the Chiss's back. "Shhh. Relax, angel, I'll take care of you." Thrawn moaned as he gently slid in.

 

Thrawn's hips spiraled gently over him as he thrust in and out and the Chiss moaned.

 

"Jarek. Mmm! Love you," he gasped.

 

"I love you too, Thrawn. My angel."

 

He turned his head to kiss the Senator, who kissed him sweetly and gently played his swelling chest and rubbing his belly. He brought Thrawn to climax easily, as always, and always gently, and held him, still rubbing his chest and stomach. "This is all rough on you, isn't it, my angel?"

 

"A bit. But you're here." Thrawn cuddled into him.

 

Palpatine kissed his forehead. "Thrawn." "Hmm?" "The Senate Session start again, soon, so I have to return to Coruscant. Do you want to stay here or come with me?"

 

"I want to come with you, of course, but that would mean the babies will be born on Coruscant."

 

"Yes, they would, but we would have access to some of the best hospitals and doctors in the Republic."

 

"Then I think I would be glad to have them there."

 

"I will get the finest natal care for you and the babies, Thrawn, I promise." He nestled in. "Thank you. Will you rub my back, Jarek?"

 

"Of course." Palpatine smiled, gladly applying his palms and knuckles.

 

The Chiss sighed as the muscles loosened and pain eased. "My poor angel, those babies are getting heavy aren't they?" "Yes, and they're just going to get heavier."

 

"How long until they arrive?"

 

"Another six months?" "A year long pregnancy?" He nodded. "What is it for humans?" "Nine months."

 

"Ah, well, we are of different species. Still, I'm sure it will fly by."

 

"I'll see about finding something to help take some pressure off your poor back." "Thank you, that will be so nice later on,... and maybe something for my breasts, They're sore from rubbing on my shirts."

 

"A bra would do nicely, and I'll take you to see Pazabelle for some maternity things before we leave in case we need to attend an event together."

 

"All right, thank you, my protector."

 

"You'll like Pazabelle. You've met her sister."

 

"Who?"

 

"Vendetta and Pazabelle are twins." Palpatine explained. "Vendetta's work is better, in my opinion, but Pazabelle is more popular."

 

"Identical?" "No, fraternal twins."

 

They went to see Pazabelle the next morning and she was very different from her sister. Where Vendetta was sharp and fair, she was soft and dark. She was also much, much politer.

 

"Good morning, Senator Palpatine. You must be Thrawn, I've been hearing about you from the Senator." "Hello," he said, rubbing at his back, as Palpatine tried to help him hold up his belly to take some of the pressure off.

 

"Oh, my, I see why you need my help. Come on in."

 

She ushered the pregnant Chiss over to a chair. "Here, sit, I wouldn't dare ask you to stand." He sat down gratefully and grunted. "Kicking again?" Palpatine asked. He nodded.

 

"I'll just take some basic measures and show you some styles." Pazabelle winked. That was very unlike Vendetta.

 

Thrawn smiled. "Thank you." "Pazabelle, do you know of anyone who creates pregnancy slings or anything to help take pressure off Thrawn's back?"

 

"Why, I do!" Pazabelle smiled, bringing one out. "This one is a favorite for mother's with multiples."

 

"How many, if I may ask?" Thrawn smiled proudly. "Half way with five."

 

"Oh, my... A big family right off the bat. Send me pictures when they come."

 

"That will be up to their mother. He's already quite protective," Palpatine said, smiling at his love.

 

"Can you blame me?" Thrawn smiled back.

 

"Of course not. I'd be worried if you weren't, love." "Here, Thrawn, lets see how this one fits you," said Pazabelle.

 

Thrawn lifted his arms and helped her slip it on.

 

It cradled his belly without restricting it, straps coming up around his shoulder and upper back. "I hope I don't need to tell you not to wear this all the time or have whole new back pains, but still..." "I'll only wear if I need to go somewhere," he promised.

 

"Good. I've got a scanner, so I'll take your measures now."

 

He nodded. "All right."

 

"Good." She ran it over him. "Here's the style guide. Go ahead and pick some things out."

 

He and Palpatine looked over the styles curously.

 

They picked out a few dress robes and cloaks for Thrawn. Nothing too extravagent.

 

"Excellent choices. I'll have them ready in no time."

 

"Thank you." Palpatine put up a deposit upfront and they went home soon after.

 

Thrawn dozed during the drive.

 

Palpatine carried him into the manor when they did arrive.

 

He woke on the way to the bedroom. "Mmm? Jarek, put me down! I've got to be heavy with the babies."

 

"Not too heavy, darling."

 

He kissed Thrawn's head and laid them both in bed,

  
"I love you, darling."

 

The Chiss purred softly. "I love you, too, Jarek."

 

Palpatine held him and they fell into a doze.

 

They prepared for the trip to Coruscant, packing all the baby stuff up, including the furniture at Thrawn's insistence.

 

It was always a bit of a hassle to open the apartment after six months out of it, but they arranged things neatly and settled into the high-rise.

 

Coruscant was a shock to Thrawn, and he couldn't seem to both look around fast enough or calm down enough to stop clutching Palpatine's arm like a lifeline.

 

Palpatine stroked his hand and led Thrawn through the crowds.

 

"It's all right. I'm here, my angel," he soothed the anxious Chiss.

 

Thrawn nodded, pressing closer. "I don't like the way they pack in here."

 

"I know. We're almost there." Thrawn had insisted on going with Palpatine to the Senate Building until he knew the way, in case he ever needed to get there. He kissed Thrawn's temple. "Just breathe, darling, in and out, slow and steady."

 

They reached the domed building and breathed a sigh of relief.

 

"Hello, sir." "A pleasure to meet you, Thrawn. I see congratulations are in order." "Thank you." He looked at Palpatine. "Yours?" "Yes." They had agreed to just claim the babies were his, since his DNA and Sidious' were identical.

 

"Congratulations to both of you then."

 

Thrawn nuzzled Palpatine happily. "Thank you, Finis. Thrawn is more than I ever even dreamed." "Flatterer."

 

"It's not flattery if it's true.”

 

Valorum chuckled. "Well I won't keep you. Find a place for him to sit down and rest, Jarek." "Of course, of course."

 

"Hello, Senator Palpatine. Who's... this?"

 

His expression became fixed. "Senator Dianehouser. This is Thrawn, my intended."

 

She had poison written all over her. "Hmm... A bit late for a shotgun wedding."

 

Thrawn looked confused. "Shotgun wedding?"

 

"It doesn't mean anything, Thrawn."

"Of course not." Senator Carmel chuckled. "See you in the rotunda."

 

"... I don't like her, Jarek." "No one does, angel. Come now, lets get you seated, hm?"

 

Thrawn settled on the couch in Palpatine's office easily.

 

The Senator brought him tea and kissed his head. "Better?"

 

"Yes, thank you." Thrawn kissed him back.

 

"Good. Will you be all right while I'm in session?" "Yes, Jarek, we'll be fine."

  
Palpatine gathered his datapads, kissed Thrawn again, and left.

 

Thrawn slept peacefully on the couch as he waited for his lover to return. "Carmel said that? I know I shouldn't be surprised, but she said THAT? TO you?" Valorum gasped.

 

"Yes, she did. She really does have no shame."

 

"Apparently not. Stars above, that woman has no heart either, saying that to an expectant mother, too." "Luckily Thrawn doesn't know what that means."

 

"God protects fools and children." Valorum nodded.

 

"He's not a fool if he's never heard the phrase, Finis. He's from the Unknown Regions."

 

"You know what I meant, Jarek."

 

"I do, but even so my Thrawn is still no fool." "I wouldn't think you'd be one to take a fool, my friend. Only the smartest." "He is."

 

Finis chuckled. "Come, friend, let's join the debate."

 

"Fun for the whole family," he muttered. "Oh absolutely."

 

Thrawn was napping when Palpatine returned to his office.

 

He smiled and stroked his fiance's hair. The Chiss woke with an adorable coo and made a questioning sound.

 

"Time to go home, love."

 

  
"Okay." He held up his hands. "Help?"

 

Palpatine reached down and pulled him to his feet and into an embrace.

 

Thrawn purred and smiled. "Babies are kicking, Jarek. Can you feel them?"

 

"I can." Palpatine could feel the impacts against his stomach. "They're excited."

 

He rubbed Thrawn's swollen stomach. "Little ones, are you beating up your mother?" he cooed.

 

There was a strong kick against him.

 

"Yes? Well, you need to be nice to Mommy." Thrawn smiled.

 

The kicks turned into twisting and fluttering.

 

That's better," Thrawn said with a sigh. The kicks could make him sore after a while.

 

Palpatine rubbed the spot. "Home, I think."

 

He nodded.

 

They were almost through the Senate session before the babies came.

 

Palpatine came home for a debate to find Thrawn in the bed, which he had covered with towels, naked, and covered in sweat.

 

"Thrawn?! What's happening?"

 

"Babies are coming," he panted before dropping his head and pushing. Palpatine yelped and rushed to wash his hands and grab their birth kit they'd put together.

 

They came quickly, more quickly than human babies, and Palpatine helped as much as he could.

 

By the end Thrawn was exhausted, but he had delivered two girls and three boys.

 

Palpatine cleaned them off and wrapped them in blankets. Five little bundles in soft flannel.

 

He cleaned up his wife, having married a few months before, and settled beside him, holding him and kissing his head. "You were amazing. I'm so proud of you."

 

Thrawn nodded, blinking tiredly. "They're so beautiful, Jarek..."

 

"They are. Rest, angel. We'll name them once you've recovered some then figure out how to feed them all."

 

Thrawn nodded, laying his head against Jarek's chest.

 

He woke to Jarek gently shaking him. "Here, love, time to eat somthing."

 

Thrawn smiled and sat up, accepting the bowl of soup Jarek offered. There was a twinge in his back.

 

He winced. "Thrawn?" "My back hurts."

 

"Well, you were doing a lot of work earlier." Palpatine gently rubbed him.

 

"It's... sore... below." "I'm sure it is. Want a cold pack or some ice?"

 

"Please." Thrawn smiled at his husband.

 

"All right." He kissed his wife's forehead and brought him a cold pack wrapped in a washcloth, gently laying it between his legs.

 

Thrawn sighed in relief. "Thank you."

 

"How are we going to feed all these babies, Thrawn?"

 

Thrawn sighed and opened his shirt. His pectorals, usually smooth, had changed. "Labor brings it on. There should be one for each of them."

 

Palpatine's eyes nearly bugged out of his head in surprise to the now six lumps on his wife's chest. "... With one extra to make it even," Thrawn said.

 

Palpatine reached out and gently touched one of the lumps. "...Woah."

 

Thrawn carefully gathered the babies, swiftly and gently arranging them so they didn't smother one another, and they began nursing hungrily from their mother.

 

"They're so beautiful." Palpatine ran his fingers down the middle boy's back. He had very, very light skin and black hair. "What shall we name them?"

 

One of the girls was colored similarly to him as well, the only one human skinned one. One girl and the other boy had pale blue skin and red hair, and the third boy had slightly darker blue skin and black hair with some red streaks. Thrawn purred over them. "I want this one to be Liora. I found the name and just loved it," Thrawn said, nodding to the human skinned girl.

 

"She's going to be a golden girl." Palpatine stroked her hair. "Liora Auru, and this one will be... Iana Argenta." He touched the chiss-skinned daughter.

 

 

"Beautiful, my love. This boy... Ceol. Yes, Ceol fits you, my little one."

 

"These two... may I name one of them Shiv?"

 

"Shiv? Why?"

 

"It's a derivative of my brother's name. A family name.

 

"... No. Please, nothing like his name. I don't want anything of his attached to them."

 

"All right then. Cosinga." He named one of his sons. "And Cos."

 

Thrawn wrinkled his nose. "Cosinga AND Cos? Jarek, no. That's too similar."

 

"Ilrich, then."

 

"Fine, a strong name." He gently nuzzled his babies.

 

They lay that way, treasuring them for a long time.


End file.
